Minerva's Black Moments
by AutumnSkiesAreBlue
Summary: Sirius Black spent seven years under the care and supervision of Minerva McGonagall. Seven years that changed the course of his life. The Gryffindor head of house isn't blind and isn't even totally unbiased. What does she think about the young Sirius Black as he starts to grow into the man we know?
1. On Meeting

**Minerva's Black Moments**

**Chapter 1 – On Meeting**

Minerva picked up her cup of tea and the long piece of parchment that had recently been placed next to it. Taking a sip from her tea, she began to read down the list of new students that would be sorted later that evening. She usually had fun guessing what house each student would be in and if she recognised any of their names from former students and school friends.

This time however, she stopped short at the fourth name: _Sirius Black._ So the heir to the most infamously dark and powerful family in Britain was finally coming to Hogwarts.

Minerva was under no delusions as to what he would be like. He was a sure fire Slytherin if ever there was one. The entire family belonged to that house after all. Never in the memory of the school had a Black been sorted into any house other than the Home of the Snakes and their heritage went back further than that too.

Minerva was also no stranger to the family. The current head of the family was two years behind her when she was at the school. He was immensely skilled in manipulation and hexes and certainly was not short of a few brain cells. She believed he was currently working in the Ministry, coercing politicians and controlling what laws were passed.

The teacher was also no stranger to the other Black offspring. Three daughters of Cygnus and Druella Black were all at Hogwarts the previous year, with the oldest about to start her final year. The sisters were all skilled in different ways. Narcissa was an expert at manipulation and getting out of and staying out of trouble. Andromeda was incredibly intelligent and skilled at potions. Bellatrix on the other hand, was different altogether; she was brutal at best. Bellatrix Black was frequently at the height of investigations for bullying the younger years and it was thought that she was all too happy to use nasty curses on fellow students as well. The only problem was that they never had enough proof; she always used very underhand tactics that were difficult to detect.

As such, Minerva was under no illusions with the latest Black. He was sure to be just as powerful and intelligent as his father, if not more so. She imagined he would already be well-practiced in magic and would probably need very little teaching, for a few months at least.

With a resigned sigh, Minerva turned her mind away from her musings and her eyes back to the list of first-years.

After mentally sorting Iphis Pinkerton into Gryffindor, Minerva stopped short once again but this time she couldn't hold in a laugh. Black was going to have some rivalry this year. James Potter would be starting too. Son of a powerful auror and heir to another large (though not nearly as powerful and influential as the Blacks) pureblood family, the Potters were almost the exact opposite of the Blacks as far as ideals went. The Potters were staunch supporters of equality for all magical folk, whereas the Blacks were firm supporters of increasing the magical hierarchy and maintaining the power and influence of pure-blooded witches and wizards.

Yes, Black and Potter would be sworn enemies from the moment they glimpsed one another.

~#~

Minerva McGonagall's first impression of the new students as they walked into the Entrance Hall with faces full of wonder, was that they looked just like every other year before them.

It wasn't long before she pinpointed the young Black. He had the aristocratic features with the high cheekbones, grey eyes and dark hair. He was a little shorter than average but carried himself so assuredly and gave off such an aura of certainty that he easily made up for his shorter stature.

Minerva had gotten around half way through her usual greeting speech in which she mentioned the school houses before anything went amiss. At the first mention of Slytherin, a messy-haired, slight boy snorted and muttered not too quietly: 'no guesses that's where _he'll _end up' nodding pointedly in the direction of Black. Several students laughed quietly.

So it appeared Black and Potter had already met. Let the rivalry begin, she thought to herself.

'What makes you so sure you'll follow in daddy's footsteps, Potter? You won't have the guts to get past the tests they put you through before Sorting anyway.' Black said. He spoke with such assumed knowledge that many of his classmates looked at each other in horror.

It took a moment for Minerva to understand what the boy was up to. She caught a look of confusion cross the Potter boy's face, briefly followed by panic before being replaced by a clearly forced calm expression. Then it hit her, Black knew how the Sorting went, he was just trying to worry the other students and get one up on Potter.

'If I can't manage it then how in the name of Merlin will you, Black?'

Black just laughed to himself.

So distracted was she by this new power play that Minerva almost forgot she was there to introduce the children to Hogwarts.

She cleared her throat. 'Can I have your attention please?' The students all swivelled to face her and their big, bright eyes focused on her once more. 'We will shortly be going through these doors where you will be sorted into your houses before joining your fellow classmates.'

She did not bother to correct the assumption the children had made about their being a test. Half the fun was always in the surprise when it came to Hogwarts.

~#~

McGonagall returned to the Entrance Hall to collect the students after preparing for the sorting. Black was stood off to the side with a few other children she knew to be from powerful pureblood families though he wasn't conversing with any of them, they all looked at him as though he were a precious jewel. Potter was surrounded by several other children, clearly already popular.

She ordered them all in to a double file formation and led them into the Great Hall, smiling to herself at the astonished gasps from the children behind her.

She left them at the foot of the steps leading up to the teachers table and stood beside the Sorting Hat as it burst into song.

Upon its conclusion, Minerva noticed the relieved looks of the first-years as they realised that there would be no test.

'What! We just have to try on a smelly old hat?' Potter murmured.

The teacher noticed Black's shoulders shaking almost imperceptibly in laughter, yet his face did not change. Yes, she thought, he already had the behaviours common to the Black family.

'When I call out your name, you will come forward and place the Sorting Hat on your head. Then you will be sorted into your house and you will join the corresponding table.

'Abernathy, Morganna.'

'_Hufflepuff!'_

'Alton, Pamela.'

'_Ravenclaw!'_

'Avery, Cassian.'

'_Slytherin!'_

'Black, Sirius.' The hush that filled the school suddenly became tense as the older students realised that another Black had come to Hogwarts. At least there was no guessing as to what house he would be in. Even the muggle-born students knew that all members of the Black family were in Slytherin and always had been.

And yet, the Sorting Hat had barely touched the boy's head before it bellowed out: '_Gryffindor!'_

If the hush was tense before, then it quickly became shocked. Not even a teacher clapped for the student for they were all too stunned.

Minerva was frozen in her spot. Never in the history of the wizarding world had a Black been sorted anywhere other than Slytherin. And certainly none had had the qualities of a Gryffindor. But yet, the Sorting Hat was so sure it didn't even spend an entire second contemplating its decision.

Before she could catch herself, Minerva noticed the Black boy stood in front of her, holding out the hat.

What caught her attention though were his eyes. Previously she had just thought them a typical Black feature, now though she noticed they were a stormy grey which coincided well with the look of worry and surprise that even he could not disguise on his face.

The room was still deathly silent.

The head of Gryffindor house nodded slightly at her newest student as she took the hat off him and he strode off to join his silent housemates. No student moved over to allow him somewhere to sit; they were all too busy gaping at him.

Instead, he continued walking down the table to the point Minerva was worried he'd just keep walking until he reached the doors and leave the hall altogether. However, he simply took a seat at the very end of the table, facing distinctly away from the Slytherin house, all of whom looked in a state of utter confusion; caught between clapping, shock, and anger that the Gryffindors had stolen their most valuable house member who will never be.

Shaking herself out of her stupor, Minerva McGonagall raised the scroll once again and called out: 'Bones, Amelia.'

Shockingly, when the deputy headmistress reached the Ps, the Sorting Hat pondered far longer over James Potter than it did Sirius Black, though he too was quickly sorted into Gryffindor. Though he did not sit anywhere close to Black at the house table and was greatly cheered by his house when he walked over.

~#~

When Minerva finally reached: 'Yetton, Adelia.' who was sorted into: '_Slytherin!_' she rolled up the scroll and carried the hat off into the antechamber before returning to her seat at the teachers table.

Only then did she turn back to look at her house table. She was shocked to notice that Black was no longer sitting alone. A sandy-haired boy she vaguely remembered being Lupin, Remus appeared to be painstakingly trying to make conversation with the dark-haired boy. Said boy appeared to be lost in thought and worry and only seemed to be grunting in reply to the other boy's questions.

Glancing over to the Slytherin table, she then noticed that several of them were glaring in the direction of the Black heir, not least was the death glare coming from Bellatrix Black. This at once made Minerva think of what the familial fallout this revelation would be.

Turning her gaze instead to the food that had appeared in front of her, Minerva began to assess her own assumptions of the boy. He was clearly very different from his ancestors, despite first impressions. She had very rarely seen the Sorting Hat make a decision so quickly, and when it did it was only to sort a child with the house the rest of their ancestors had been sorted into.

Perhaps she had to rethink her beliefs about the younger Black and get to know him before making any further conclusions as to his nature.

_~#~_

_A/N_

_I've always been interested in the relationship between McGonagall and Sirius and it features in many of my other stories but I never really gone into much detail. _

_This'll just be a collection of drabbles that focus largely on McGonagall's thoughts about Sirius at various points in his life, probably won't get as far as imprisonment and death though, sorry._

_Updates will probably be variable as I'm working on another story at the minute but let me know what you think _


	2. Of Breakfast and Timetables

**Minerva's Black Moments**

**Chapter 2 – Of Breakfast and Timetables**

The first day of term dawned and students began to gather in the Great Hall for their breakfast. Minerva always made sure she was early for breakfast on the first day as she had to deal with the tedium that was arranging the students' timetables.

She also enjoyed watching her students settle back in after the summer holidays and gaining an early impression of her new students. At seven o'clock, just as Minerva had finished her breakfast, the new Gryffindor first years began to enter in small groups.

On the first day of term, the first years usually stuck to the people in their dormitory as they were the only people they had had the chance to meet. Sure enough, the Gryffindor girls followed the usual pattern though they sat together as a year group when they had all arrived. The boys however were slightly different. While they were all in the same dormitory, they entered in two groups. The largest consisted of five students while the smallest contained only three. The small group entered first with Lupin and a muggleborn student named Valmary leading both deep in conversation, Black followed them looking around and glaring at anyone who chose to stare. This group sat at the top end of the table, more mingled with the older students than the girls had done.

When the other Gryffindor boys entered shortly afterwards, Minerva noted that they were led by Potter who appeared to be laughing and joking with most of the group surrounding him. Potter initially aimed to sit around where Black and the other two Gryffindors were sat but, upon seeing Black there, turned and instead sat his group down the other end of the table. There already seemed to be interesting politics at play amongst this year's new Gryffindors, Minerva thought.

Reluctantly draining the last of her tea, Minerva stood from her chair and picked up the bag beneath it that contained the blank timetables.

She first reached a group of fourth year students whose timetables were thankfully easy to arrange with them all continuing their previous year's subjects. The following group of sixth years were more difficult however as several students were disappointed with their O.W.L results and could no longer take their favourite subjects or stay with friends. Minerva had a particularly difficult time explaining to the Prewett twins that they would no longer be in Arithmancy together due to Gideon not quite managing an E in his O.W.L.

The following group were what Minerva had inwardly nicknamed the 'Potter group' of Gryffindors. Their timetable arranging was easy enough as all first year lessons had been arranged prior to the start of term. This said, it was more difficult than Minerva had expected to issue the timetables as all five boys were loudly joking and enjoying their breakfast. She had to pointedly clear her throat several times before a nearby third year noticed and gave the nearest first year a sharp nudge in the ribs.

It was around an hour later when Minerva gradually began to reach the end of the house table. She was infuriated by the group of fifth years and a small group of second years who had arrived late and sat amongst students who had already been given their timetables. Minerva hated doubling back.

All of a sudden it sounded as though the roof of the Great Hall had been torn off, opening the interior up to the elements. Only the first years looked up in surprise at the noise, though several of the others jumped after becoming unused to the sheer volume of post owls in the mornings.

Minerva sighed. She had hoped to have gotten the timetable arrangements finished before the post arrived. She was expecting a letter from her cousin in Caithness and this week's edition of Witch Weekly and she was rather looking forward to a calm half an hour before starting her day's lessons.

Turning back to her students and handing a pair of seventh years their timetables, the head of Gryffindor was interrupted again, this time by the shocked gasps of the students in front of her.

Following their gazes up the table to a student just two along from the one next to her, Minerva spotted the crimson letter that had drawn the attention of so many. Turning back to the boy who appeared to have been the receiver of the letter, Minerva noted that it was the Black boy.

Quickly putting two and two together, she realised that this could only be a result of the boy's sorting. He must have known what the letter was as Minerva saw a brief look of resignation cross his face before it was wiped clean as a slate.

Black reached a steady hand out as the rest of the table (Minerva included) seemed to hold their breath. Sliding a finger under the seal, he flicked the letter open and threw it out in front of him to avoid burning his hand.

Even Minerva McGonagall hunched her shoulders slightly at the sheer volume. Straightening her spine, her eardrums gradually managed to discern words amongst the screams.

'-YOU THINK YOU HAVE DONE. THE SHAME. THE HOPES WE HAD FOR YOU. YOU WERE TO LEAD THIS HONOURABLE FAMILY TO STILL GREATER HEIGHTS. AND THEN YOU GO AND TARNISH OUR NAME WITH YOUR TRANSGRESSIONS. YOU FEEL YOU CAN BESMIRCH YOUR FAMILY IN SUCH A WAY THAT WILL RENDER OUR REPUTATION WORTHLESS. YOU ARE NOTHING TO ME AND NOTHING TO THE FAMILY. IF YOU EVER THINK OF INFLUENCING YOUR INNOCENT BROTHER AGAIN, YOU CAN CONSIDER YOURSELF IN A WORLD OF PAIN-'

Black's face, which was previously a polite look of confusion, contorted with anger. Minerva watched almost fascinated as the water jug in front of the boy fractured until it resembled an intricate spider's web.

As the howler exploded into a thousand pieces to the laughter and sudden chatter of the other students, Minerva's eyes flicked to the young boy. She was shocked to think that anyone, even the Black family with all its notoriety, could be so judgemental and so harsh about a simple house sorting. The boy's grey eyes resembled the sky on a stormy night as another owl landed in front of him.

Students nearby quietened sharply, clearly expecting another howler. After they'd noted the colour of the envelope, beige instead of red, they turned their attention back to their unfinished breakfasts and conversations. Minerva followed suit and got back to her morning's work.

'No Mr Cleverly, it will not be possible for you to take four options this year. There simply isn't enough space on the timetable.' Minerva said exasperatedly. The third year had hounded her for weeks the previous year on the matter.

'But Professor, it's urgent that I take Arithmancy, Ancient Runes, Care of Magical Creatures _and _Muggle Studies. I simply won't get on in life if I have to go without one of them.' The boy tried to look indignant, though with pieces of fried egg down his chin and a tissue tucked into his collar, he just looked ridiculous. Minerva pictured the pile of marking that would be on her desk by the end of the week in order to stop herself laughing at the sight.

Unfortunately this gave her a rather depressed and exasperated expression. 'Many other wizards manage it Mr Cleverly, you will have to as well. If you cannot pick two subjects within the next thirty seconds, I will pick them for you.'

The blonde boy grumbled before saying, 'fine then, Arithmancy and Runes. I'll teach myself the rest. But mark my words, I'll be contacting the Ministry over the injustice of it.'

'I'm sure you will Mr Cleverly.' Minerva replied curtly as nearby students snickered at the exchange. She gratefully passed over the timetable before turning to the last of her new first years and the other half of the war she had nicknamed the Potter-Black Feud.

'Mr Lupin, your timetable.' She said to the slight, green eyed boy. Albus had called her to his office the previous evening regarding the boy's circumstances and arrangements for his school career. Try as she might, Minerva struggled to shake off the prejudices she had grown up with. The magical world placed so much hate on werewolves and Minerva had been around such hate for so long that it was hard to change her opinions now.

Her estimations quickly jumped as the boy looked at her with an almost worried smile and replied with an incredibly polite, 'thank you Professor.'

She could not contain the smile that tugged at the corners of her mouth in return. Perhaps she would not have be forced to changer her opinions. Instead she could watch the boy in front of her, see how he acted and make her own judgements from that. He seemed a decent boy and already was vastly different to what all the textbook and newspapers claim werewolves were.

Movement flickered at the corner of her vision as another owl landed in front of Black, adding another letter to a small pile that was beginning to form.

She passed a timetable to Valmary who answered with a short 'thanks,' and then to Black who merely nodded distractedly, barely looking up from a lengthy letter which had clearly claimed his attention.

Minerva cleared her throat until the boy looked up. 'Now, as you already know I am your head of house and you should come to me if you find you need anything. You will not be expected to find all your classes quickly and easily, and a little leeway will be allowed for tardiness in the first week. However, should you find yourself lost, do not hesitate to ask a member of staff, a fellow student, one of the ghosts or even one of the many portraits. Do you have any questions?'

Black turned his eyes back to the letter in his hands while the other two boys shook their heads. 'Then I shall see you on Thursday for your first Transfiguration lesson.'

Moving on to the next group, this time fifth years, Minerva found herself distracted by thoughts of her new students. She had not had such an interesting group in one year since she began teaching fourteen years previously.

While she was interested to see how Potter would handle the newest Black, she was equally disappointed to have Black in her house. The Black's were no Gryffindors. At a push they could be Ravenclaws though for most the cunning and ambition outweighed their intelligence.

And as far as she could tell, the newest Black fit the bill perfectly. He appeared cold and aloof, not at all bothered by the presence of a person who made most other students shiver just by her presence. He was sure to be a struggle for her as no Black ever followed the rules, though some were better at going unnoticed than others.

Unfortunately she could only sit and watch, sure that if she even tried to influence the boy for the good that his family would quickly squash it out of him.

'Professor? Is there something else?' Gawain Robards, this year's head boy, asked. Minerva mentally shook herself. She had finished handing out timetables and was so lost in her thoughts that instead of returning to the staff table she had stood amongst the seventh years in a world of her own.

'No, that is all thank you Mr Robards.' She said, nodding to her student before turning sharply and sweeping down the aisle between the Gryffindor and Ravenclaw tables.

Collecting her morning post, Minerva nodded to the headmaster and strode out of the teacher's side door and headed towards her office to enjoy the last twenty minutes of breakfast.

_It took a while but it's here! Let me know if it was worth the wait :)_


	3. Disrupted Lesson Plans

**Minerva's Black Moments**

**Chapter 3 – Disrupted Lesson Plans**

It was rare for one of the students to manage to get a detention in the first week of term. The Prewett twins had done it a couple of years ago but it was still a rare occasion.

Hence, Minerva was not expecting a rather harried head boy knocking on her office door on only the second day of term.

'Robards, what in the name of Merlin is going on?' Minerva said, carefully laying aside her quill so that no ink dripped onto her lesson plan.

'Professor!' He puffed. 'I did everything I could but they're tearing each other apart.'

Robards was a highly capable head boy and it took a lot to even ruffle him, to fluster him this much suggested something more than the usual misdemeanours the school was accustomed to.'

'Who is tearing each other apart?' Minerva replied, pushing aside her lesson plan with no hint of dismay.

'Potter and Black, Professor. Allen Finlay and I tried to separate them but something forced us back, the only thing I could think to do was fetch you.'

'You did right Mr Robards.' Minerva pushed back her chair and swept around her desk and was hard pushed to hide the spring in her step at the thought of getting out of organising her lessons for next week.

She also tried to quash her feelings of excitement at getting involved in the Potter-Black feud. It was ridiculous to have such emotions because of a bone-deep rivalry, Minerva tried to convince herself.

McGonagall and Robards soon reached the entrance to Gryffindor Tower and even from here the Transfiguration professor could tell that something was amiss. The tower seemed to thrum with unease which was only amplified by the startled expressions of those in the common room. From here the voices above could be heard quite clearly.

'Where are they?' Minerva asked the room at large.

Finlay, a burly fifth year prefect, nodded pointedly in the direction of the boys' dormitories, 'in their dormitory Professor. I left when things started getting broken.'

Minerva nodded tensely and swept off in the direction of the first year boys' dormitory.

The further up the stairs she climbed, the more her excitement was replaced with apprehension. It really would have been a better idea to split the boys into two dormitories rather than keep them together, she thought. But hindsight was a benefit only afforded to the future.

She pushed open the door carefully with her left hand as her right clutched her wand just in case.

Despite everything the two prefects had told her and the noise coming from above, Minerva was not prepared for the carnage in the dormitory. Bed sheets were thrown from their rightful places, the beds themselves looking a little worse for wear. Three of the eight boys who were to call this dormitory home were crouched in a corner, clearly trying to stay clear of the argument happening across the room.

'-they're evil, the whole lot of them.' Potter yelled from the far end of the room sporting a bust lip and what was soon to be a black-eye. He too, she noticed, was clutching his wand defensively. Though by the way he was holding it, she would bet that his magical knowledge was limited to what he had learnt in the last two days.

Scanning the room for the boy's adversary, Minerva's eyes landed on Black, hair ruffled and also looking a little bruised, had his wand held aloft as though he'd actually had duelling practice. He had a face like thunder and eyes like lightening as he twitched his wand and shouted: 'aculeus!' Neither boy seemed to have noticed her entrance.

Potter gasped loudly as the stinging jinx hit him in the chest.

Acting quickly, Minerva silently cast expelliarmus at both boys and caught their wands so that no more damage could be done. Just as she went to open her mouth sternly to reprimand Black for harming another student, Potter threw his own words at the taller boy.

'See, there's my point. You already know how to hurt people. You're just as dark as the rest of them!'

Devoid of his wand, the enraged boy launched across the room and managed to get in three strong punches as he wrestled the smaller boy to the floor.

'ENOUGH!' Minerva bellowed. She was livid. Never had she seen a student so determined to cause another harm. She threw out a standard knock-back jinx to get the two students apart before speaking again.

'What on earth is going on here? There is no reason for such violence in this school. You will both follow me to my office and we will get this dispute settle once and for all.' Her tone left no room for argument which, she was pleased to note, neither boy attempted as they followed her from the room.

~#~

Not a word was spoken as the trio made their way to the first floor. This said, Minerva was all too aware of the remaining tension between the two boys following in her wake.

Once inside her office, Minerva shut her door with a sharp click before seating herself behind her desk. She looked longingly at the lesson plan still drying on her desk before turning her stern gaze upon the boys in front of her. Now that she was facing it, the Potter-Black feud was far less interesting to get in the middle of.

'Explain.' She almost snarled.

Neither boy was particularly forthcoming with an explanation or an excuse. Potter was clearly still fuming but was looking stubbornly ahead with his bust lip and bruising eye. Black on the other hand, had his hands clenched by his sides and his entire body seemed to be oozing rage.

'I do not believe this is a moment for either of you to remain silent. When you are asked to speak you will do so. Now which of you started the events of tonight?' A slight guilty tinge took residence in James Potter's cheeks. 'Mr Potter?'

'I only told him what everyone was thinking Professor.' The shorter boy blurted out.

Minerva raised her eyebrows, her scowl deepening. 'And what would that be?'

'That he's an evil git from an evil family. You saw how he cursed me, what kind of parents teach that to an eleven year old!' If possible, Black appeared to get angrier, his right arm twitched against his side as though longing to be thrown against the smaller boy again.

'I understand that your education here has not been particularly lengthy Mr Potter, but you should be aware that you only experienced a stinging _jinx_ this evening, which is a long way from dark magic.'

Potter's cheeks flushed as he quailed under her stare. Turning now to the other boy in her presence, Minerva was perturbed by the fact that he seemed unaffected by the angrily disapproving look sent his way. It was unnerving, she had mastered that stare by the age of fifteen and had been using it to great success since.

'And what,' her voice was sharp as she addressed him, finally causing him to flinch slightly as Black's eyes focused on her instead of the stonework behind. 'Makes you think that students are permitted to use both magical and physical violence in this school?'

He shrugged. Minerva's eyes inadvertently narrowed with frustration at the gesture. She knew how the Blacks operated, she had gone to school with them after all, but she had hoped that this one would be different. She sighed not wanting to know how wrong her assumption might be.

'You will each receive detention-'

The shorter boy's head snapped up at her unfinished sentence. 'But I didn't do anything!'

'Mr Potter, I believe you were the one that started the entire incident. Inciting violence is almost as bad as using it.'

'But they were just words Professor!' It was at this point that Minerva realised that the boy expected to get away with a slight reprimand. Perhaps he had never been properly disciplined before now and that arrogance had permeated into the rest of his behaviour. She decided there and then that that behaviour would be rectified.

'One day Mr Potter, you will realised that words can be just as powerful as wands. After all, it is words that often control the wand.' She had outdone herself there, Minerva thought. Even Albus would be proud of that reasoning and she was more than impressed with herself. The Transfiguration professor was hard pushed to suppress these emotions before they showed on her face and ruined her stern façade.

'As I was saying, you will each receive detention tomorrow night. That includes you Mr Potter, because you need to learn to control your tongue and not pass on family judgements in an offensive manner.' Minerva could not believe she was saying those words to someone of the Potter lineage and not to the Black heir in front of her. 'Mr Black, you need to understand that violence will not be tolerated in this school and there is never a reason for you to lose your temper with a colleague. Now, I hope there will be no further incidents of this manner again?' She raised her eyebrows questioningly.

'No Professor.' Potter said, though quietly as though he did not believe he would follow his own words.

'Not if he leaves me alone.' Black spat causing Minerva to sigh minutely again.

'Mr Potter if you would return to your common room. I will have house elves sent up to repair the damage and you will join me for detention tomorrow evening at six o'clock.'

As the door clicked behind her student, Minerva turned to the remaining boy still stood in front of her, not looking at all repentant. She knew she had to give the boys some time apart to allow their tempers to cool and the rest of the house to forget what had happened. How long she would need, she did not know.

Without a doubt, she thought, this boy was cut from the same cloth as the rest of his relatives. He would be just as willing to break the rules and probably even harm his fellow students. Not for the first time, Minerva wished that Sirius Black had been sorted into any house other than her own.

But if she could make Bellatrix Black shiver then she could crack the newest of the line. The question was, where to start?

'Do you have anything you wish to say regarding your behaviour?'

'No.' As grey eyes met her green she noticed he didn't even flinch at the eye contact.

'Every time you address me or another teacher you will refer to them as Professor. Do you understand?' Minerva could feel her patience wearing thin. No doubt this boy was unused to showing respect to others, undoubtedly raised to believe he was some kind of royalty.

Her frustration only built when the boy merely nodded his understanding.

'Then I am giving you an extra detention due to your abject lack of remorse and to remind you that despite my words to Mr Potter, words are always preferable to violence. Take a seat at this desk and I want you to write _'Magic is for use only inside classrooms under the supervision of a professor' _for three feet. If you use large handwriting I will make you stay longer.'

Black merely turned his back and sat neatly at the desk in front of her own, not saying a word. She passed him a quill and some ink before turning back to her lesson plan.

For however much she had begun to long for it during the previous discussion, now Minerva could not muster even an ounce of concentration for her lesson plans. Instead her mind wandered to the boy sat in front of her and how on Earth she was going to handle him for the next seven years.

She was sure the Sorting Hat had made a mistake. From what she had seen so far, he was just like his father, though from what she knew of Walburga, he seemed to have inherited her temper. From what she had witnessed, Bellatrix Black was going to be a walk in the park in comparison.

One question burned in her mind however, she knew that the Blacks were a very traditional family and treated their first-born son like royalty. And yet, just two days ago the boy had received a howler; the height of humiliation for any student. Try as she might, Minerva could not work out how something as simple as a sorting could cause so much rage.

Unable to focus with her current stream of thoughts, the professor looked up to watch the boy. He had managed less than six inches so far and the reason for this became apparent as the scratching stopped as his head turned to stare, almost unconsciously, out the window for a good few minutes.

She knew her detention was designed to be uninteresting but Minerva was astounded the boy had the audacity to care so little for her punishment.

Clearing her throat, the boy looked round. The sudden embarrassed pink tinge to his cheeks surprised her, as if he knew he had been caught out. From Black's previous reactions Minerva didn't think the boy even knew such an emotion existed.

Looking into those stormy grey eyes, Minerva felt her burning question bubble up her throat. Black clearly seemed to be waiting for a reprimand for his distracted behaviour and instead seemed a little taken aback at the words she uttered.

'I have never seen a student receive a howler over something as simple as a Sorting.' While it was not really a question the inflection she placed on it made her meaning unmistakeable.

Black shifted in his seat. Minerva could tell he was uncomfortable discussing family issues. It was at that point she realised just how personal her question was.

'I understand if you do not want to answer, it was rather remiss of me to ask.'

He looked at her curiously as if weighing her up. Minerva fought the urge to shuffle under the scrutiny, it would not do to show weakness.

'It's- it's less the sorting than it is me.' He answered quietly, his shoulders gently loosening from the stiff posture as his façade seemed to falter a little. Minerva got the impression that the boy was desperate to tell somebody at least a part of what was going through his mind. Unfortunately this didn't help Minerva understand what he was trying to tell her.

Apparently her face gave away her confusion when Black continued.

'Well, every direct member of the House of Black has been in Slytherin since the school opened.'

'I thought you said the howler was not over your house?' Minerva asked, just as confused as she was before.

'It just means that I'm different. As different as it gets really. Every Black since Merlin has been cunning and ambitious, shrewd and resourceful. But Gryffindor is well, the exact opposite really. At least the other two houses share some qualities. I don't think they'd have been as angry if I was in Ravenclaw, at least then they could just claim my intelligence outweighed ambition. They just don't like that I'm a direct descendent and the heir and so I'm different to the rest of the family.'

She was stunned. Minerva had known the Blacks from school and she thought she knew how they thought, but to be furious enough to send a howler over personality differences was astounding.

As Black shifted in his seat in front of her before turning back to his lines, the professor began to think, lesson plan entirely forgotten once more.

She knew the sorting wasn't random. She'd seen it before where certain students would surprise her after a few years as their personality developed. Some students didn't appear to fit their house values at the start of their school years but many grew into them. Minerva still didn't know if it was the peer pressure of friends and housemates that caused the change or personality but if past history was anything to go by, Black would probably conform sometime in the next few years. Even if it was simply to not be alienated from the people he has to spend the next few years living with.

Now that she thought about it, Sirius Black did not necessarily react the way she was accustomed to from that family. Certainly he had the temper and appeared prone to lash out, but Minerva also got the impression that he was desperate for someone to understand him; Blacks never voluntarily shared information or even display an ounce of human emotion and yet, this one had told her a little of his thoughts – albeit only a little.

And his sorting was quick. Quicker than even for the students who were almost guaranteed a place in a certain house. If he had been sorted into Slytherin then it would have been far easier to comprehend. Slytherin had been expected by everyone in the hall as soon as his name had been called. And yet, Gryffindor…

Minerva thought her mind was made up as far as the newest Black was concerned, but now she realised she would have to watch him a little closer.

~#~

_I know I promised one reviewer that this chapter would be a little quicker, but I had to add another chapter between the last one and the one I was going to upload (the next one). That and this was difficult to write. _

_I'm not going to promise quick updates anymore, mostly because I've got important exams coming up and it'd just disappoint._

_Anyway, let me know if it was worth the wait (or if it wasn't)._


	4. A Thursday is not Quite a Friday

**Chapter 4 – A Thursday is Not Quite a Friday**

Thursdays were Minerva's least favourite day of the week. It was so close to the weekend that she could almost smell it but yet there were still two full days to get through. At least none of the other weekdays pretended to be something they were not. Minerva had never had a good Thursday in all of her teaching career, there was always something that ruined it for her.

This Thursday was one of the worst, purely and simply because it was the first one of the year and it followed three days of busy work. She hated when term started on a Monday, it forced everyone to settle in far too quickly and it was always too much to manage after six weeks off.

The day started pleasantly enough with the sun rising brightly across the grounds sending a warm glow into the castle. The heat of summer remained and all things considered, it was a beautiful morning.

Minerva woke that morning thinking of how blissful the sunrise was before being sharply brought back to earth when she realised that it was in fact a Thursday and not the end of the week as she had initially thought. That was never a pleasant way to start a morning.

To make matters worse she required two cups of coffee just to feel even remotely like teaching her second years. She was just thankful it was her Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs and that they were generally a studious bunch but it was still their first lesson of the year and it was never going to be plain sailing.

Sure enough the class were difficult to get settled and it was only the threat of house point deduction that calmed them enough to start the lesson.

Every year it stunned Minerva to think how much her students could forget after a six week break. Hence, every year she had to start the first lesson with a series of questions so that she could assess how much information had leaked out of her students' minds. It would save so much effort on her part if her students would actually take their education seriously.

Thankfully, considering the class contained Ravenclaws and fairly studious Hufflepuffs, it did not take long before Minerva felt the class was ready to continue. She tapped the board with her wand and began to talk through the theory of transforming beetles into buttons.

~#~

The Thursday feeling continued as the second years filed out of classroom 1B. The caffeine now wearing off, the Transfiguration professor slumped into her desk chair and summoned more coffee from the kitchens. She prayed that her first years would be late. She would never admit it to another living being, what with tardiness being one of her pet hates, but she just wanted her entire class to be fifteen minutes late at least.

Unfortunately, luck was not on her side. Forcing herself to stand from her only too comfortable seat, Minerva made her way over to the classroom door and prepared to make an impression. It wouldn't do for her class to think she was a push over. She had a reputation of being the strictest teacher in the school for a reason. And first impressions worked wonders for that image.

She seized open the door and the chatter beyond ceased immediately.

'You may enter.' She called, stepping aside. 'And sit where you please, though you should note that if you cause a disruption, I will have you moved.'

Filing past her, several students made a rush for the back row. As per every year, the Gryffindors and Slytherins divided themselves up immediately and took a side of the room each; the Gryffindors on the right and the Slytherins on the left. Not one student sat next to a member of the other house which never ceased to sadden her, it was almost as if they were on opposite sides of a war.

Her eye was caught by a girl in her own house, Evans she thought her name was, she had ridiculously bright red hair which Minerva could only hope the girl would grow into. However it was not Evans' hair colour that caught her attention. When the girl entered the room she dithered for several seconds in the middle passage that divided the two houses.

Minerva knew that she was a muggleborn as these things were made known to all the teachers at the start of term so that they could help the children adjust better to the magical world. As such Minerva knew that Evans would have little knowledge of house politics but even still, the other muggleborns knew to steer clear of Slytherins, yet this one looked as though she yearned to sit amongst them.

It was a shame really, Minerva thought, it was only ingrained prejudices that kept the two houses apart. It was a shame too, that Lily Evans felt the glares of the Slytherins and the welcoming smiles of the Gryffindors and chose to stay with her own house.

Turning her eyes to her other students, Minerva noted that the Slytherin house politics remained unchanged from prior years. The students with the clearly more expensive robes and the older surnames sat together towards the back of the room, leaving those with standard-made and comparably shabby robes to divide up amongst themselves. She noticed that these students frequently turned to glance longingly and often hopefully at the richer, and hence more popular students. Despite the little she knew of pureblood politics, Minerva found the clear contempt of the lower social classes quite sad. These children would have no issues including those with less money if their parents hadn't forced them to think that way.

She had been watching her own Gryffindors at mealtimes all week and was interested to see the subtle changes in their dynamics. The girls stayed in their dormitory groups mainly, though were all eagerly chatting to one another. Evans kept looking from her roommates to the other side of the room, the longing still evident on her face. Despite herself, Minerva found her curiosity piqued.

It was amongst the boys that bigger changes were starting to happen. True, Black was still on the fringes of their society and Lupin appeared his only true companion. But it appeared that the other students were more comfortable in his presence, even if they were not actively conversing with him. It would take time, Minerva knew, but it wouldn't be long until he was properly integrated into his new house, even if it wasn't the one that she thought suited him best.

What was more astonishing was that Potter was sat just two seats away from Black and the sheer proximity stunned her. He had his back turned true, but she had not seen him so close to Black since their fight and subsequent detention earlier in the week.

Wrenching her mind away from pondering her first years, Minerva picked up the register and began calling out names and matching them to faces.

'Well, I must start by congratulating you all. This is the first year that all my students have arrived on time to their first lesson.' She said, putting the register onto her pile of unsorted paperwork.

'Now, I must warn you that Transfiguration is an incredibly difficult branch of magic and many of you may struggle with it. However, with the right perseverance I believe every one of you will be able to achieve good grades in my subjects.'

She completed her introduction and swiftly shifted into the form of a tabby cat to the awe of the class. That trick had always been guaranteed to get the attention of even the most disinterested of classes.

'Transforming into an animal, or becoming an animagus, is some of the most complex Transfiguration that currently exists and should any of you become particularly accomplished in this area, you may wish to attempt to make a study of animagic. However, this is not something that you will be doing whilst at Hogwarts as it is highly dangerous and regulated by the Ministry.

'Now that you are aware of the extents of Transfiguration with enough practice, we shall start with the basics. None of you will be able to accomplish complex magic without first starting small, thus today we will be going over the theory of transforming a matchstick into a needle before putting it into practice towards the end of the lesson.'

Minerva proceeded to explain the method of Transfiguration in general before applying the theory to the matchsticks.

Towards the end of her monologue, she glanced across the room and was pleased to note that her students were listening avidly to her and many were hastily jotting down notes. All of her students were paying attention, all but one.

In the far right-hand corner of the room, Minerva caught sight of a less than interested boy not even pretending to look towards the front of the room.

'Mr Black, if you would kindly extricate your wand from your nostril and pay attention to my lesson.' Her sterner, clipped voice caught the class unawares and several students jumped in surprise.

Many of the students swivelled instantly in their seats as Black's head shot up, clearly not expecting to have been caught. The movement jolted his wand and it clattered to the desk in front of the boy. Instantly flames shot from its tip causing Lupin to jump back from his chair in fright. Black looked at her sheepishly but didn't move from his desk as if fire was a regular feature in his life.

Despite the mixed reaction from the class; half laughing openly while the other half (typically those nearer the burning desk) muttered anxiously to one another, Minerva's first thought was that she now had another student with tendencies towards pyrotechnics. It was an unfortunate side-effect of some wands and personalities and it always proved tedious to deal with. Her second thought was that Black was clearly the disruptive type of student, she was sure he would be a handful.

Sweeping down the centre aisle Minerva hastily doused the desk before the flames could spread any further. In her frustration with the aforementioned student, Minerva was not as accurate with her spellwork as she would have otherwise been causing Black to jump to his feet in surprise. With the flames now gone, Lupin sat back down looking openly relieved that his notes didn't succumb to the flames. Black sat down beside him with a squelch and a small grin on his face as though he were almost proud of himself.

Out of the corner of her eye, Minerva noticed that the Potter boy was looking towards Black with an interested look on his face and a smile pulling at the corners of his lips. Though she didn't think his laughter was directed at Black like the Slytherins' was, she felt he was laughing _with _him.

On second thoughts however, Minerva thought she must have imagined it. Considering two days previously the boys were fighting like cat and dog while destroying their dormitory, there was no way they would be laughing together.

Calling the class to order, Minerva rounded on the now dripping boy on the back row.

'Seeing as you feel yourself above paying attention in my lesson Mr Black, perhaps you could demonstrate the correct use of the spell I have been teaching the class.' Minerva knew all too well that she had barely even mentioned the incantation let alone the method and the wand movements.

Thus she was not expecting much from the dark haired boy when she banished a matchstick to his desk. Perhaps a panicked look and an apology would be an adequate response that she would accept before continuing with her lesson.

What she didn't expect was for the boy to point his wand confidently at the matchstick and mutter 'acus coriquetum' and for the matchstick to sharpen, become thinner and begin to look exactly like a perfectly formed needle.

Several students' mouths popped open in surprise. Minerva's brow unconsciously furrowed slightly. Not many students could accomplish this spell first time let alone without listening to the theory first.

Minerva McGonagall was stunned. Schooling her face back into a look of mild disapproval before asking: 'where did you learn to do that?'

The boy lifted his eyes once more to the stern professor before opening his mouth, then closing it again. Eventually he answered, 'Grandfather taught me, thought it would be more useful in the short run.' His voice was quiet, seemingly unsure what to do with this vaguely positive attention.

Minerva's brow knotted once more. It was common for pureblood families to begin teaching their children magical theory prior to Hogwarts, though most avoided teaching the actual spells. This said, all three Black sisters arrived at Hogwarts knowing at least a few hexes, knowledge that she knew had also been passed on to the heir given his almost duel Tuesday night and his silent insinuation just then. What was far more unusual was for her students to have an adequate grip on curriculum spells.

'While your spell work was impressive for a first attempt, I would appreciate your respect in my lessons in future, regardless of whether you deem yourself able to complete the work I am teaching.' She gave the boy a sharp and pointed look.

He fidgeted uncomfortably in his damp seat for a moment before muttering, 'sorry.'

It took all Minerva's effort not to raise her eyebrows at the half-hearted apology but she had to remind herself that the boy was probably not accustomed to apologising to anyone, let alone in front of a class full of people.

Instead she huffed quietly before turning back to the blackboard behind her.

'As Mr Black has just demonstrated, the correct wand movement for this spell is a slight swish in the upward direction starting from the matchstick and moving upwards. However, this combined with the incantation alone with not produce a sufficient transfiguration. You need to visualise the matchstick turning into the desired needle for the spell to work adequately. The stronger the visualisation, the better the needle. You may be best practicing each component individually before trying the whole spell.'

It was not long after that that Minerva had finished the theory portion of the lesson. After banishing the matchsticks to the students' desks so that each had three with which to practice she called the class to attention once more.

'For this part of the lesson I expect your full concentration else you will achieve nothing other than extra homework. Any misbehaviour during practical exercises will result in an immediate detention, do I make myself clear? Transfiguration can be a dangerous subject if not treated with respect. Now, as Mr Black has successfully completed the task, I wish to talk with you while the rest of the class gets started.'

Sirius Black stood from his seat and squelched his way up the centre aisle until he was standing directly in front of her desk.

The boy had unconsciously managed to stand in exactly the same position as he had two days previous and Minerva couldn't help but make comparisons between that boy and this one. Amazingly enough, two days had made a remarkable change.

This Sirius showed no signs of the weight that seemed to be upon his shoulders when he was last in front of her. Yes he seemed to still be slightly outcast but he now had an easy smile ghosting behind his lips. He seemed more carefree to her, less preoccupied with the words of his parents though perhaps that was just an effect of elapsed time.

'How far through the syllabus have you gone?' She asked, cutting her musings when she realised Black was still waiting for her to speak.

'I don't know what's in the syllabus Professor.' He answered bluntly with a small smile. Minerva knew that it wouldn't take long before that smile was getting on her nerves.

'Well then, what is the most advanced transfiguration you have accomplished?'

'Er, I can transform slugs into tea bags and back again.'

Minerva was surprised, that is second year level work. She fished around in her desk for a moment before withdrawing a sheath of parchment and handed it to the boy in front of her.

'That is the entire first year syllabus, if you could go through that list and check off everything that you are comfortable completing.'

Sirius nodded and returned to his desk with a frown on his face as he read through the list.

Minerva began to make her rounds of the room, noting the level of difficulty her class seemed to be having with their first transfiguration. No one, besides Black, had so far even come close to completing it.

After half an hour, the first signs of progress began to make themselves known. Matchsticks were starting to turn silver when there was a shout of joy from the back of the room.

Spinning to see what mischief was going on, the professor was surprised to see Black knelt by Potter's desk and that it was Potter that had made the disturbance. But surprisingly, there was no mischief to be seen. There on the desk in front of them was a perfectly formed needle.

'Well done Mr Potter.' She called across the class, Potter beamed at her then turned and beamed at Black.

Minerva was astounded. It appeared as though the boys had been working together when two days previously they were more likely to throw punches at one another.

As the class filed out ten minutes later with only half of them accomplishing anything, Minerva ruminated on the changes she had observed. The redhead Evans girl still perplexed her with her clear desire to sit amongst the Slytherins. Lupin too had caught her attention, he had managed slight changes to his matchstick – far more than many of the rest of the class – and had been extremely diligent with his notes at the start of the lesson.

However, one image had burned itself onto her retina, Potter smiling at Black. Yes, the situation did seem a little strange but if Minerva wasn't mistaken, Black had willingly been aiding his prior enemy. Things were changing, that much was obvious and the Black boy was so very different to her expectations, though she couldn't decide whether he was talented or just well taught.

Reading through the list she had had the boy check off, she found that there was still quite a lot on the first year curriculum he couldn't do, though there was a few second year and even two third year spells he claimed to be able to accomplish.

With a furrowed brow, Minerva summoned her fourth coffee from the kitchen and pondered the fact that she still had four classes to teach before she could call it a day. She truly hated Thursdays.

~#~

_This one took a while I know but I wanted to finish my other story first, this chapter was pretty much the whole reason this fic was started in the first place._

_Now, I need your help. My creative mind is at a loss – I need some ideas for pranks. Please, please help me, either stick ideas in a review or PM I don't mind, I just need something to spark an idea._


	5. An Unexpected Development

**Minerva's Black Moments**

**Chapter 5 – An Unexpected Development**

Minerva felt uncomfortable yet she couldn't place the feeling. The hairs on the back of her neck were prickling but it was only breakfast, surely no trouble could be brewing yet? Collecting her post that had sat patiently unopened in front of her throughout breakfast, Minerva swept from the Great Hall and took the short cut from there to her office.

Her suspicions were heightened when her first class of fourth years entered. Being Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs they were usually fairly well behaved, sometimes unsettled but generally a good class to teach. Thus she wasn't expecting them to sit in their seats and turn to the people sat around them to discuss some gossip or another. This class was normally focussed, not restless and prone to chatting when her back was turned.

She was equally not expecting two of these students to be inexplicably missing. Asking the class to explain the absent students' whereabouts, Minerva gathered that Clara Payton had gone to the toilet thirty minutes ago and not returned while Jonathon Hargreaves had simply taken what he had thought was a short cut to his next lesson.

Thinking her students were just lost on some teenage misadventure, Minerva tried to regain the attention of her class and begin teaching while she tried to shake that niggling feeling from the back of her mind.

This was all well and good except the same scenario occurred in her second period with her sixth years though this time there were five students missing. There appeared to be no rhyme or reason to their absence. They were not students known for truancy nor were they even known to be friends so it was unlikely they were together. Besides, they were sixth years just starting their NEWTs. Minerva knew by now that sixth years were normally quite diligent in getting to their lessons for at least the first month. She thought it was something to do with the unexpected difficulty of their lessons.

The absurdity of it all was getting increasingly frustrating. Seven students in two periods! It was ridiculous. Surely there was something going on.

The transfiguration professor found herself taking her frustrations out on her unsuspecting class. Disregarding the lesson plan she had looked over that morning, Minerva plunged into a lesson she normally used later in the year, when her students had gotten used to the complexity of NEWTs. She almost felt guilty as she watched their faces screw up in confused concentration as she started her explanation on transfiguring the rods in human eyes to increase night vision.

By the end of the lesson, the class looked visibly exhausted and Minerva almost apologised. She vowed to do an easy lesson next week rather than continue with this topic. It wasn't fair to make her students suffer for something she hoped they had no control over.

As the class filed out, she heard the strangest sound. A strangled cry had come from one of her students while startled laughter came from those surrounding her.

She swept passed those still stood in the doorway until she was standing just outside the ring of students surrounding the girl who had cried out.

It was Madalene Edgecombe. Her feet were twisted at an awkward angle and seemed stuck to the flagstones beneath them as she tried to twist them free from whatever had caught her feet in place. She was distressed but it didn't seem as though she was in pain.

Pushing aside the students who were ringed around her, Minerva knelt by the girl's feet and began casting diagnostic charms. The girl was paralysed from the waist down and couldn't move her feet even an inch. The latter suggested a sticking charm of some sort but the former made it more complicated. The charms showed it was an early version of the sticking charm, no longer in use as it froze everything connected to the object within three feet most inconvenient in the majority of instances.

Unfortunately for Minerva, this spell predated the invention of the finite incantatem charm. However, being close friends with a first-class charms professor with a love for old-fashioned spells had its benefits.

Remembering Filius' excited rant three weeks previous, Minerva muttered the counter charm and the girl's feet instantly unstuck. She wobbled on the spot as she tried to regain her balance before her classmates steadied her. She looked relieved when she could move again, clearly she thought she would be stuck there for a while yet.

Brow furrowed, Minerva stood to address the class still stood around her.

'I do not know what caused this, but I intend to get to the bottom of it. If any of you have any information then I would appreciate you coming to me.' She shot them all a meaningful look before sweeping back into her classroom and summoning a pot of strong tea from the kitchens as she heard them file off to enjoy the remainder of their break.

Minerva heard nothing more until lunch. None of her seventh years in their double were missing though all were disturbed by the disappearance of housemates and friends.

After seeing them off at the end of their lesson, the professor decided she would discuss the matter with her colleagues over lunch. Her mind set, Minerva began the short walk to the Great Hall. She had only made it to the end of the corridor before she was encountered by the semi-frozen forms of multiple students.

Her brow furrowed in anger. Who had the nerve to cause such widespread disruption, who knows how many students had missed lessons because of this pandemonium?

Now knowing how to counter the charm, Minerva made quick work of unsticking the students from the flagstones who all sincerely thanked her before stumbling off to lunch. Following in their wake, Minerva unstuck all she came across. Her ire increased when she came across Professor Vector bent at the waist attempting to unstick her feet from the ground (although apparently the effort was futile).

Minerva strode over, her entire posture exuding anger.

'Septima. How long have you been stuck?' Minerva asked as she unfroze her colleague and told her the spell so she could help unfreeze the other students.

'Oh thank Merlin, Minerva. I've only been here five minutes but nothing I could think of would work.' She replied, rotating her ankles to get her blood flowing again.

'Not to worry, I remembered something Filius said a few weeks ago, you know how he is with ancient spells. Do you have any idea who would do something like this?'

'Well I had assumed it was the Prewett twins, you know how they like a prank.'

'Yes, I had initially thought so too.' The professors began to walk side by side to towards the Great Hall. 'But they seemed just as surprised as anyone else when I saw them last period.' Minerva was almost growling in frustration.

'What about those first years that caused the new Defence professor such trouble last week?'

'Black and Potter you mean? I do not imagine so, they were at each other's throats not even two weeks ago. Besides, two boys from those families are never likely to even be seen talking pleasantly together let alone working together.' Minerva was convinced of her argument.

The two reached the Entrance Hall to find at least thirty students stuck to the stone work and many more stood around them trying to help their friends get free. Professor Vector gave her colleague a significant look before moving to free the first stuck students she came across with the spell she had just learned.

As Minerva moved through the crowd doing the same, she caught sight movement in the corner of her eye. Lo and behold, she saw two first years practically doubled over with laughter before they saw her watching them. She glared in their direction as they quickly sobered before turning tail and running through the doors and into the Great Hall behind them.

Freeing the last student. Minerva quickly followed, her countenance enraged.

She came to a stop behind two of the smaller students who were still quivering with laughter. The table around them quickly grew silent and stared in their direction. The shoulders of the students in front of her stopped dead as they felt her eyes practically burning holes in the back of their heads.

'What exactly is the meaning of this?' Her voice was deadly. She seized both boys by the scruff of the neck and hauled them to their feet. 'My office. Now.'

The boys stumbled over the bench and hastened to follow their irate Head of House all the while wondering how on Earth she knew it was them.

Minerva was beyond furious as she strode through the halls. How dare two students from her own house cause such disruption! She had expected behaviour like this from Black but she had thought better of someone from a family like the Potters. But what infuriated her the most was that she had been wrong.

She had thought the two boys would be fighting each other non-stop for the next seven years. She had worried about the carnage if Black and Potter would be fighting against one another, but now she realised the fall out would be so much greater if they worked together. Clearly the boys had come to the same conclusion that more mayhem could ensue if they just put their minds together.

The students trailing in the professor's wake tried hard not to laugh at the scenes they passed. Students were gradually being freed by the prefects who had now been taught the spell, some falling as they tried to regain their balance unsuccessfully. However both knew better than to put voice to their amusement.

When Minerva's feet stuck fast to the stones beneath them she barely broke stride. Pointing her wand downwards she snarled the incantation before continuing on her way. Potter glanced over at his friend before gulping nervously and walking into the office.

Once Minerva was sat behind her desk, she faced the two students stood in front of her.

'Well?' She glared at them. 'Explain yourselves.'

She stared intently into the eyes of each of them in turn. Black squirmed a little but turned his eyes to a point just behind her right ear and stared resolutely ahead, a muscle twitching as he tried not to grin.

His reaction infuriated her further. How dare he not take the situation seriously? He was acting as though this was just a slap on the wrists. Minerva knew the boy had probably been raised to think he was above punishment, probably never heard a stern word in his life. He probably didn't even know right from wrong. She had a long way to go to try and make this boy a more respectable addition to society.

The professor turned her stare next to Potter who turned red and fiddled with his hands. She intensified her stare, Potter's mouth popped open.

'We thought it was funny.' He said in a small voice, trying hard not to make eye contact.

Black turned to the boy next to him and shot him his own glare. Potter hunched his shoulders and muttered an apology.

'And what exactly did you do?'

Black continued to stare ahead.

'We found this charm in the library, a sticking charm Professor. So we used it on some of the stones around the school.'

'And what would you have done once everyone in the school was stuck to the ground?' Minerva's voice was icy as she turned the full force of her glare at Black, determined to make the boy talk to her.

Black squirmed as he met his professor's eye.

'It was timed. The charm would've worn off by dinner.' Black looked surprised at his own words as if amazed he had spoken at all, let alone confessed to something.

This pacified Minerva a little. At least the boys had the foresight to not make the charm permanent. But now that she thought about it, two first years only two weeks into their schooling should not be able to pick up a book from the library and just learn a sticking charm. There were not many students bright enough for that. Mind you, she had discovered from their lessons so far that neither students particularly struggled with new spells. She had previously put that down to prior tutoring but was now starting to think that both boys might possess a fair degree of talent.

'Do you have any idea how much disruption this little prank has caused?' Minerva tried to return to her previous anger. 'Students have missed their lessons, someone now has to go around the school to make sure none of the students are stuck and can continue with their day.'

Both boys now hunched their shoulders in guilt.

'You will each receive detention with me tonight and tomorrow night. You are to be outside my classroom by seven o'clock. Right now you will spend the remainder of your lunch hour removing your prank from every flagstone in the castle.'

Black looked up sharply. 'But that'll take hours!'

'Then you best work quickly. If either of you are late for your lesson after lunch then I'll add a third night of detention. Do you understand?'

Black and Potter nodded, chastened, before filing out.

As the door shut behind them, Minerva sunk her head into her hands and let out an exasperated sigh. She was no longer angry. In fact she felt a little worried. If Potter and Black could plan this level of havoc after only two weeks of education who knows what they could be capable of.

Clearly Black had been a bad influence on Potter. That must be the reason behind it.

But what on earth inspired the boys to go from fighting to working together to cause mischief so quickly?

Minerva only hoped she would be able to stop them and instil discipline before anything got too extreme.

~#~

_A Christmas present for you. Or rather, the only time I've had in weeks to actually write anything_

_I'm not too fond of this chapter but it had to be done. Sorry._

_Hopefully the next one will be better._


	6. Ginger Newts

**Minerva's Black Moments**

**Chapter 6 – Ginger Newts**

Damn Filius and his detentions. Minerva was sure he had given the Prewett twins detention on purpose just to get out of his rounds. Granted, none of the teachers enjoyed being on duty but Filius Flitwick had a habit of trying to swap his rounds with everyone else. This time just happened to be her turn. Minerva knew why Filius didn't like wandering the corridors at night but really, the man was forty-three for Merlin's sake, he shouldn't be scared of the dark at his age.

Snorting silently to herself in disbelief at the thought, Minerva slowed her pace to a steady amble. She had given up her quiet night in front of the fire with a new book to walk the cold, dark and – most importantly – empty corridors of Hogwarts.

To her, Hogwarts became even more special by night. The quiet halls seemed to thrum with idle magic and with the wards that protected the building and its inhabitants. Striding past the suits of armour and the ancient paintings she felt she was being told the story of Hogwarts, a story she had fallen in love with during her own time as a student.

Hogwarts was transformed during the night time. During the day there was no denying the castle was a school when there was the hustle and bustle of students chattering and cramming the hallways. By night however, the silence and stillness allowed the history to be told through the stone walls and cobblestoned floors. She loved every inch of this castle.

Though right now she would have loved to have experienced in from the inside of her quarters with a cup of tea and perhaps a ginger newt. Once more, the transfiguration professor cursed her colleague for ruining her quiet night in. With any luck it would be an easy patrol with no students seeing how far they could push their boundaries.

Apparently, Minerva's luck was not in her favour. As she neared the top of the staircase on the third floor, she thought she could discern a quiet hissing noise. At first she thought somebody had managed to burst a water pipe but knew instantly that the castle was far too magical for something so mundane.

As she neared where she thought the sound was coming from, the noise became clearer as a voice, most probably a girl's voice considering the pitch. But then it changed abruptly to something deeper, more masculine, until it cracked at the end of whatever he was saying. Minerva smothered the smile. The last sound could only belong to a pubescent boy whose voice was beginning to drop.

Drawing nearer still, Minerva was finally able to make out the words being spoken, and this unfortunately gave her an idea as to who those voices belonged.

'Auntie thought she might be able to salvage something in you, even if you are a disgusting Gryffindor. Uncle tried to convince Father that you were still valuable. Still part of the family. But I think you're just a worthless bloodtraitor not worthy to lick the dirt from my boots.'

Minerva's stomach dropped. That menacingly low yet still fairly high pitched and sugary sweet voice unmistakably belonged to Bellatrix Black. Then the words she spoke could only pertain to young Sirius Black.

For a moment, Minerva questioned whether she should interrupt what was clearly a family gathering of sorts. Wondering whether perhaps it would be better to let the family deal with their own issues without interference.

As the words continued and the woman's feet continued to make slow progress towards the students, a loud cracking noise rent the air quickly followed by shouting.

The clear sound of violence made up her mind over whether or not to act. It did not matter who was involved, Minerva did not stand for violence except in the most dire of circumstance.

'You leave me alone. All of you.' She heard a grunt and a shuffling of footsteps. 'It's my life and I'll do what I want with it!' It was a younger voice that confirmed her earlier suspicions as to who else was involved in this conversation.

'You little-' The voice cut off as Minerva rounded the corner.

The sight that met her eyes was not entirely unexpected given the words she had heard on approach. There were four students present in the dimly lit corridor, not the three she had previously assumed. Bellatrix Black was standing opposite her cousin, clearly trying to intimidate him with her height and presence. To the left of her, stood almost parallel, was Lucius Malfoy, his head tilted back slightly to allow him to look down his nose better at the boy stood opposite. Both teens had their wands drawn though only Bellatrix looked as though she was ready to shoot off a spell.

Behind the combative pair stood Narcissa Black. She had her arms folded but from her distance from the others she appeared reluctant to join them.

She did not have her own wand drawn despite having a wand in her hand. Minerva noticed this wand was both longer and darker than the one she knew Narcissa possessed. The girl was also holding it as though it was burning uncomfortably in her hand and thus it could not have been her own wand else it would not have burned so. It must have belonged to the only other person in attendance who was not visibly armed.

These deductions formed in Minerva's mind in the brief seconds after rounding the corner. From the positions of the three Slytherins, she knew for certain now that this was not a passive conversation. What she did not know was whether any violence had previously occurred.

'What in the name of Merlin is going on here?' She said, voice clipped.

Black and Malfoy hastily pocketed their wands, Bellatrix also removed the hand that was full of her cousin's robes and took two paces back from him.

The youngest Black tried to right his robes, still glaring angrily at the others.

Minerva stared at each student in turn, not leaving out her own lion. Narcissa and Lucius were the first to fidget under her glare. Not too long after, Bellatrix looked away. The youngest Black still hadn't looked in her direction, his face was still contorted with anger.

'We were merely having a family discussion, Professor.' Malfoy finally answered, stepping forward slightly.

Minerva raised her eyebrows at him. 'Last I checked, your surname was Malfoy, not Black.' She clipped.

Malfoy's eyes flickered to Narcissa. 'And it always shall be. That does not mean I will not have familial duties.'

Something clicked in Minerva's mind though her stomach wanted to roll. They were only fifth years for Merlin's sake! The two could not be engaged already! But when she glanced in the direction of the youngest Black sister, Minerva noticed the glimmer of an expensive diamond on the girl's left hand.

She sighed.

'I hardly doubt this meeting was a passive conversation that could have occurred during more social hours.' Minerva said, glaring once more at each of the Slytherins. Her Gryffindor was still glaring daggers of his own, shoulders still heaving with pent up emotion.

The students paying attention shuffled again. 'Unless there are any complaints?' She said in the direction of the youngest member. When he showed no signs of acknowledging her words she added, 'Mr Black?'

His head snapped towards her and Minerva was almost frightened by the intensity of his eyes. Whatever had happened previously had really angered the boy in front of her and Minerva had the impression that at least some form of fight would have started if she had not arrived when she did. As he turned to her she noticed the redness of his right cheek, previously invisible to her. It looked as though he had been struck, and with some force too, perhaps that was the source of the strange sound she had heard before.

The professor was snapped out of her thoughts when the boy uttered a clear but sharp 'no.' Only now did she realise that two of the three Slytherins had turned to glare at the boy at her question, clearly trying to intimidate him into answering a certain way. Not that the child took one look at them past trying to incinerate them with his own glare.

Minerva sighed inwardly again. As she had not witnessed any violence herself and the apparent victim did not appear to be too forthcoming with accusations as would normally happen when a teacher arrived, there was nothing she could do. The professor inwardly groaned, she hated when there was no evidence.

'Very well. Seeing as it is after hours you should return to the Slytherin common room. I will be ensuring you get there and will be informing Professor Slughorn about tonight's incident in the morning.' None of the three appeared overly bothered by the threat.

As they turned to file passed her, Minerva turned her head to Narcissa Black and looked pointedly at the wand she was still holding.

'I do not believe that belongs to you. I should be having it off you.' She did not need to ask yet the message was clear. Narcissa passed over the wand without complaint before following her housemates down the corridor towards the dungeons.

Minerva was surprised to find that she too felt uncomfortable holding the foreign wand in her palm. It felt as though the wood was trying to burn the flesh from her palm.

'I believe this is yours.' She said to the only Black now present, still stood several feet from her.

She raised the wand as if to pass it to him and noticed how he flinched slightly at her movement. The teacher frowned, she would never hurt one of her students, no matter what she thought of them.

Quickly overcoming his previous wariness, Black strode forward and took his wand from her grasp. The tight muscles in his face and neck seemed to ease a little as he took hold of his wand, as though being separated from it had helped to put him on edge.

'Do you now wish to tell me what had happened before I arrived?' Minerva asked not unkindly.

'No.' The boy answered curtly.

'It seemed to me as though you were being accused of something. As though your family were harassing you.' She probed.

At the word family, Black's face seemed to twist back into its previous angry expression. He turned his head, looking now at the door adjacent to where he had been stood. In the same second, the glass in the door blew inwards and shattered.

Continuing to stare at the door, Black's shoulders suddenly sagged and he turned back to look at his professor, eyes wide.

He barely raised his eyes to meet hers when he uttered a small 'oops.'

Minerva was stunned into silence. The previously infuriated visage now seemed defeated and also more than a little sheepish. Every ounce of anger in the boy's body must have gone into exploding that glass, draining the anger from him.

Meeting the boy's gaze, the professor removed her wand from her inner pocket and quickly flicked it at the door behind her student, repairing it.

Stowing away her wand, she gestured gently to the boy thinking that she may be able to get more out of him now that he was calmer.

'Perhaps we would be more comfortable in my office Mr Black.' The boy nodded and obediently followed in her wake.

~#~

Once inside Minerva's first floor office, she shut the door behind them and gestured for the first year to sit in the chair on the other side of her desk.

As she sat in her own she noticed how he slumped into it and was staring roughly in the direction of his knees, twisting his fingers in his hands.

She didn't say anything at first, too occupied with observing the foreign behaviour of the boy in front of her.

All of a sudden, he lifted his head, looked her dead in the eyes and said softly, 'I'm sorry about the door. I didn't mean to lose control like that.'

Minerva frowned slightly. Did he think she had brought him back here just to reprimand him for something he most likely couldn't control? That said, she had not done much other than reprimand the boy in the past six weeks, what else would he think she said to her students?

'Never mind that. It was easily repaired.' Now it was Black's turn to frown a little in confusion before his head dropped once more.

'Are you feeling okay Mr Black?' The woman asked gently, feeling a little strange to be having a conversation of this sort with a member of the Black family.

'I- er, yeah. I'm fine… Thanks.' He stuttered quietly.

'Forgive me for saying such, but you do not look it.'

Black sighed before looking up at her with his head tilted a little to the side, it was as though he was deciding whether or not to trust her. Minerva had the feeling she was being scrutinised by those grey eyes.

Trying not to shift too much, Minerva's eyes graced a fresh tin of ginger newts that she had spent all day trying to resist opening.

Her hand reached out of its own accord. Apparently the presence of biscuits she was practically addicted to made her body act independently of her mind.

Opening the tin, she offered it to the boy facing her, 'have a biscuit Black.'

The boy looked startled but accepted a proffered biscuit. This action seemed to make up his mind over whether or not he would talk to her.

'It's all starting to get to me.' He said, voice little more than a whisper as he fiddled with the ginger newt between his fingertips.

Absently reaching into the tin for her own biscuit, Minerva didn't say a word, fearful that the moment she did he would clam up and she would get no more from him.

'They hate me, all of them. The whole family hates me all because of a stupid sorting. Though I suppose that's nothing too abnormal. Mother's always detested me. Hated everything to do with me. She only had eyes for Regulus, the perfect son, the one who should have been born first.' His words remained quiet as he focussed on slowly breaking the biscuit up into crumbs.

Minerva's heart broke a little at his words. No mother should hate their child. Her thoughts flicked to her own mother and the relationship they shared, surely no mother could hate their child in the way Black was explaining?

But she knew the Blacks, had gone to school with them in fact. And while she knew little of pureblood beliefs she had heard that it was not uncommon for children to be raised with little involvement from their parents. Knowing the Blacks as she did, it would not surprise her to discover that they had never once displayed an ounce of love for their children.

'I don't know what I've done so wrong. I know Mother doesn't like me, but at least before Hogwarts she'd keep her comments to herself, probably too scared of what Grandfather would say if he found out. But now she's comfortable enough to send a howler of all things. She wouldn't've been able to do that without at least Father knowing which means he allowed it.'

The boy was talking more to himself than to her but Minerva couldn't deny that the insight into the boy's life was eye-opening.

'What's so wrong with me that they all hate me so much?' He finished, looking up at her with anguished eyes.

Minerva stopped her hand from reaching into the biscuit tin as her heart tore. Looking at the boy in front of her she could no longer feel the dislike and distrust she had previously felt towards the boy. Sure he came from a dark and deceitful family, but that did not mean they were all the same.

Clearly the boy thought differently to the rest of them or else he would not be sorted into her house, the house so similar yet so very different from the one every member of his family had been sorted into. The anguish the lad showed melted her heart, he was barely twelve years old. A boy that age should have his mind full of quidditch and schoolwork not thinking he was deficient or unlovable as his words suggested.

'There is nothing wrong with you Sirius.' The use of first name seemed to slip unconsciously between her lips but it served to gain the attention of the other. 'In the six weeks I have known you, you have proven to be a very intelligent and capable young man if a little prone to mischief.' The professor said with a small smile.

'These features are nothing to be ashamed of. Your differences from your family do not make you worthless as your cousin seemed to think. They show that you are independent and, forgive me for saying, but I do not think it a bad thing for you to be different from the rest of your family.'

'That's what my uncle said. But still. They're my family. I bet my brother hates me no too, I bet Hag-Queen… er Mother,' Black corrected hastily as Minerva tried not to laugh. 'Will have tried to turn him against me by now.'

'I am afraid there is little you can do except be yourself. Besides, you will be going home for Christmas soon, you will be able to talk to your brother then.' Minerva tried, still amused by the thought of Walburga Black as the hag-queen.

Far from comforted, Black blanched a little at the thought of going home and shifted uncomfortably in his seat for a moment. He sighed again.

'I guess you're right though. You and my uncle. I can't exactly change how I think and what I believe, can I?'

Minerva shook her head, smiling sadly at her student. She hated that not every child could have a happy life, she felt that no child should have to deal with what she termed 'adult' problems until they had at least finished school. But Minerva was a realist and knew that the world wasn't perfect, she would just have to settle with helping those she came across as best she could.

Black straightened in his seat and brushed off his hands. His eyes seemed clearer as he looked at her. 'Thank you professor. For talking to me. I'm sorry I kept you up.'

As he made to stand, Minerva stopped him with a sharp look. He sank slowly back into his chair.

'If there is ever a time you need to talk to someone, know that you can always come to me. I will always listen. You may return to your common room, it is getting late and it is way past curfew.' As the boy stood once more she offered him the biscuit tin. 'Have a biscuit, I know you barely touched the first one.'

Black smiled a genuine smile at her before taking proffered ginger newt and leaving the room, a small bounce back in his step.

Minerva sighed to herself, looked to the clock at the back of the room and sighed again. Oh well, she thought, at least she wouldn't have to go back on patrol. It appeared she had spent the last of the evening dealing with the scuffle that had occurred more than two hours ago.

Standing, she retrieved the tin of ginger newts from the desk, locked the office door from the inside and said the password to her quarters.

~#~

An hour later and Minerva had not moved from the armchair in front of her fire though the ginger newts were no longer.

At least she was no longer disgruntled with Filius for forcing her to do rounds tonight. She felt enlightened, if a little saddened by the conversation with her lion earlier. She couldn't shake the image of the frightened and confused child that she had seen earlier. It contrasted so greatly with what she had thought of him prior to this evening but now she couldn't believe she had thought so little of him.

The past six weeks had shown her that Sirius Black was not short of talent, that was, providing he wasn't required to recite or even understand a piece of theory. But his practical work in both her subject and those of her colleagues was exemplary.

That and his new found friendship with James Potter suggested he was much kinder hearted than she had assumed. Unless she had misjudged Mr Potter too, she felt a boy from _that_ family would not suffer to be friends with someone who believed greatly in social class or who discriminated against muggles and muggleborns. No, if their friendship was anything to go by, then the latest Black must be from an entirely new mould.

And that would explain a great deal about the howler he had received on the first day of term and also about the altercation with Bellatrix Black earlier that evening.

Still with the image of Sirius Black confused and a little broken in her mind, Minerva could not help but think on the boy kindly and wonder just how wrong her impressions had been.

~#~

_QUICK UPDATE! Somebody send help, there must be something wrong with me. Or is it just that I really ought to be doing something else? Probably the latter. Anyway, make the most of it, we both know it probably won't last._

_Anyway, Happy New Year! _


	7. Sighs and Confusions

**Chapter 7 – Sighs and Confusions**

The transfiguration professor heaved an enormous sigh as a tawny owl swooped through the open window in her office and dumped another stack of parchment onto the already teetering pile. It was on cold December evenings such as this, with snow flurries floating passed the window, that Minerva was glad for the heat isolating charm that allowed animals into the room but not the cold.

Placing the final full stop on her latest correspondence, Minerva quickly addressed and sealed the letter before making use of the readily available owl. She stretched out her arms in front of her and cast a quick time charm. It was eleven thirty and her stack of paperwork had only increased in the time she had dedicated to reducing it. Deciding to quickly glance over one last item before calling it a night, Minerva picked up the Christmas Sign-Up Sheet that had not long previously been dumped on her desk.

She was pleased to note that the list was short this year. Minerva had always found it a little depressing to find that some of her students preferred staying in an empty castle over returning to their families, so she always tried to look out for those that did. This year there were only four names on the list. The first name on the parchment, in an untidy scrawl, barely discernible and only partly explained by the inability to use a quill against a vertical wall, was Sirius Black. Her heart clenched tightly at the sight.

It was a good job Minerva was used to the boy's handwriting else she wouldn't have been able to read the name at all. It was strange she pondered, the first two weeks of term Sirius Black had nice, elegant handwriting. Now it seemed to be as untidy as he could make it.

Over the past month or so, Black had grown far more outgoing and seemed to fit in with his housemates far easier than he had at the start of the year. This was perhaps explained by the ever increasing friendship between himself and Potter, a pairing Minerva would never have guessed at and wasn't too sure she approved of. Since the start of their friendship, the pair had grown increasingly rambunctious and Minerva was almost at a loss for what to do. Detentions seemed to have minimal effect and sometimes only resulted in subsequent punishment. She could only hope that as their friendship continued they would calm down a little and focus on their studies. Not that either of them really needed to, they were both bright boys and seemed talented in transfiguration as well as their other subjects. One could only wonder what would happen if they actually applied themselves.

Continuing down the list of names, Minerva found the other three did not surprise her half as much. One, Nellie Hains, lived with her aunt after the death of her father in a quidditch accident and didn't seem to enjoy being surrounded by her much younger cousins especially at this excitable time of year. As for the second and third, Minerva knew that the Fiske brothers' parents were called abroad to a conference that neither could avoid and had written ahead asking her to keep an eye on their boys over the holidays.

Despite knowing the circumstances of some of the students who wished to stay, Minerva was obliged to write to each of their families to ensure they were permitted to remain at the castle. Quickly writing out three identical letters, Minerva addressed each before placing them on her desk, ready to be sent off first thing in the morning.

Stretching one last time, Minerva put down her quill and turned from her desk, sparing one more scowl at the stack of parchment yet to be completed and turned in for the night.

~#~

Two days later and the end of the weekend had finally seen a reduction in the paperwork pile. The frequency of owls swooping through the window had decreased and finally allowed Minerva the opportunity to make progress. Just as the Transfiguration professor was beginning to pat herself on the back for a task well done before going to dinner, a black owl swooped into the room and dropped a scarlet envelope onto her parchment-free desk.

Minerva glared at the owl as it entered but her eyes widened at the sight of the envelope. Who on earth would be sending her a howler. Knowing better than to keep it waiting, Minerva reached for the envelope after casting a quick silencing charm on the room. Mentally preparing herself for the screeching that was to follow, she flicked open the seal.

'YOU USELESS HALF-BLOOD. HOW DARE YOU BRAINWASH MY SON INTO STAYING AT THAT SCHOOL. I WILL NOT TOLERATE THIS AND WILL NOT PERMIT HIS PROLONGED STAY AT THE CASTLE. MY OFFSPRING WILL RETURN HOME AT THE CONCLUSION OF THE TERM OR I WILL BE PRESSING CHARGES IN THE WIZENGAMOT FOR KIDNAPPING. YOU HAVE CORRUPTED THIS GREAT FAMILY WITH YOUR MUGGLE-LOVING WAYS WHICH WE WILL HAVE TO WORK TIRELESSLY TO STAMP OUT OF THE BOY. I WILL NOT PERMIT MY FLESH TO STAY ANY LONGER THAN NECESSARY WITHIN THOSE WALLS OF CORRUPTION. -

'- Signed, Lady Walburga Black of The Noble and Most Ancient House of Black.' The letter finished in a more sedate tone.

Minerva humphed as the letter ignited thankful that the woman had not been as loud as she had when she sent howlers to her son.

'A simple "no" would have sufficed.' Minerva muttered to herself as she vanished the ashes from her desk.

She would have to arrange to talk with the boy. It was unfortunate that he would not be permitted to remain at the castle over the holidays as she could clearly see why he wanted to stay. Who would want to go home to that? Regardless, she would have to ask to see him after dinner this evening to inform him that he would not be able to stay.

It was a conversation that Minerva did not want to have. While she did not like the idea of her students not having a family to return home to, she liked it less when it appeared they would not be welcomed greatly on their return. She would also have to ask him about what his mother meant by 'stamping out' behaviour. She hoped it would be nothing like it sounded but Minerva knew how some of the older pureblood families treated their children. It appalled her when she saw some of the outcome on the children taught. Minerva could only hope that Walburga Black was being as melodramatic as the manner in which she chose to converse.

~#~

Minerva struggled to hide her amusement at dinner when Black received her note summoning him to her office later that evening. She noted how his eyes went wide before flicking up to her. She almost laughed when he turned to Potter and shoved the note at him who also went wide-eyed. Perhaps they thought she had caught them scheming again. Perhaps they _were_ scheming again and thought they'd been caught. Perhaps she would have to add the guilty look the boys were wearing to the list of things she would have to talk about in their meeting.

~#~

At seven pm sharp Minerva heard a tapping on her office door. Clearly Black was more anxious than she thought if he had actually arrived punctually. Over the past term the boy had proven to have issues arriving on time to her office and the Transfiguration professor hadn't expected him for at least another five minutes yet, especially seeing as he didn't even have detention this time.

As he entered the room and took up position in front of her desk he looked at her warily.

'Please take a seat.' Minerva said, her tone soft.

The boy's eyes widened, the last time his head of year had spoken like that he had just had an argument with his relatives. He cautiously lowered himself into the seat positioned slightly behind where he stood.

'There is no need to fret Mr Black, you are not in trouble.'

The boy looked visibly relieved but he tried not to let it show.

'Unless of course, you think you should be in trouble?' Minerva raised an eyebrow at him.

'Of course not Professor, I've done nothing wrong.' He replied innocently, though she noticed a mischievous sparkle in his eye with his words. 'It's just that I've never been summoned here unless it's to be punished for something.'

'Most students are only ever summoned to my office when I wish to speak with them about something. Just because Mr Potter and yourself have a certain aptitude for trouble making leading to more frequent than average visits here does not mean that all visits to my office are for the same reason.'

Minerva let out a sigh. She really did not want to say the words that would follow as she knew instinctively that the sparkle would leave the boy's eye. She hated upsetting her students, no matter who they were or how much they irritated her at times.

'I have received word from your parents. Your mother to be precise.' Black flinched slightly at her words. 'And unfortunately you have not been granted permission to stay at the castle for the holidays. You will have to return to London will the majority of the students at the end of term.'

Minerva watched as the boy in front of her slowly lowered his eyes from her own and started to glare at the desk in front of him, his lips downturned. His shoulders almost imperceptibly began to droop.

'Some of your mother's words concerned me however, though perhaps it was the volume with which they were screamed.'

Minerva expected a smile to grace the boy's features. Instead his eyes flashed up to hers once more and his mouth popped open. His cheeks started to colour a little.

'She didn't send you a howler?' He asked incredulously, seeming slightly embarrassed by the whole idea.

'Indeed. Most unnecessary so I thought. I had liked the functioning of my eardrums. Though I imagine I will one day become accustomed to the ringing.'

A small snort of laughter gave Minerva the response she was looking for. Her students should not be so unhappy this close to Christmas, especially not one so young that they should still be lost in the magic and wonder of it all.

'I'm sorry. I never thought she'd send you a howler of all things. Maybe a cursed letter or maybe a boggart if she could work out how to package it and send it by owl. She's off her rocker. You should see what she sent my uncle for his last birthday.' Black smiled at her, cheeky grin back in place.

Considering how many reservations Minerva held for the boy, and how wary she still was of his attitude and behaviour, she was surprised to find her heart warmed a little at his light words. He had clearly wormed his way passed her defences and managed to charm her at least a little.

'Then I should be thankful for the howler, though perhaps I should place stronger curse wards over my window.' She smiled tightly at him before turning more serious. 'Melodrama aside, was there a particular reason you wished to remain at the castle instead of returning home for Christmas?'

His smile dropped quickly and he avoided eye-contact. Shuffling slightly on his seat, he seemed to struggle for words before stilling suddenly and looking straight at her.

'Not really professor. I just wanted to explore the castle a little while it was a bit emptier.' As soon as his words were finished he broke eye-contact and stared at the wall a little to the right of her ear.

'And there is no reason for you not to return to your home?' The professor probed.

His eyes snapped back to hers and this time they lingered longer, perhaps trying to convey his message more strongly. 'Of course not.' He offered no greater insight.

Minerva's eyes narrowed slightly. She did not know if she should believe him. Black spoke the words with what appeared to be honest conviction and she would have believed him if he hadn't received approximately one howler a month since starting the school.

'From you mother's words in her previous missives, she appear to be quite disgruntled at both your sorting and subsequent behaviour. In fact her words suggested a personal affront and seemed to propose violence.' No matter what anyone said, Minerva always tried to look out for her lions.

'Well,' Black said slowly, head cocked to the side a little as he pondered her words. He did not appear particularly affected by the thought of anything waiting for him at home, though his shoulders did seem a little tense. 'You have experienced for yourself how melodramatic she can be. I think it is just the only way she knows to express herself.' He gave her a small (and forced?) smile which she returned tightly.

'If that is the case then I shall let you be on your way. Perhaps in future you should seek permission from your parents before signing your name on the form. It might save you a little disappointment.' She must be imagining the slight tenseness in the boy's shoulders, his words were too light and calm for him to be truly worried.

'I didn't think I needed it. But I will in future.'

'Then perhaps we should conclude and let you return to your common room. And remember, as I am sure I have said before, you are always welcome to return to my office if you need to talk. You do not need detention as an excuse.'

Black huffed a small laugh before nodding and leaving the room and shutting the door quietly behind him.

Minerva couldn't help it, she could feel herself growing fonder of the boy every time she had a normal conversation with him. There was something about his wide eyes and easy smile that she found endearing and made him hard to dislike. Perhaps it was because he reminded her a little of her younger brother, Robert, when he was a child.

Minerva shook herself mentally, refusing to think further on the issue, before preparing herself for her rounds of the castle.

~#~

Sirius Black had left Hogwarts with the rest of his classmates at the end of term and Minerva was glad he didn't seem too reluctant to leave. She was thankful for this as she was unsure what she would be able to do if the boy had refused to leave. Perhaps she would have been required to Floo his mother and have her personally escort him from the school?

The ease of his leaving also managed to ease what was left of Minerva's uncertainty. If Black was this comfortable leaving with his friends then nothing too awful must be awaiting him at home.

Thinking the matter nothing more than melodrama, Minerva returned her thoughts to enjoying her own Christmas and starting thinking about what she would get for her parents and his brothers' children. She had long given up on buying her brothers anything as both were doing well for themselves and never wanted for anything anymore.

~#~

Christmas was a quiet affair but that didn't mean Hogwarts was any less beautifully decorated. The students who remained did not cause trouble and Minerva found herself happy to leave the castle for a couple of days to return to her hometown of Caithness to join her family in their festivities. All thoughts of Sirius Black had been swept from her mind as she too got caught up in the magic of the holiday.

~#~

As the students filed into the Great Hall for the New Year Feast, Minerva's eyes raked over her Gryffindors as they always did, happy to see their return and the bright smiles on their faces. Almost unconsciously her eyes settled on her first years, still separated into groups. The girls all still stuck together but the boys remained separated. This time however, the smaller group consisted of Black and Potter (two boys she now expected to see practically joined at the hip) as well as Lupin (a boy she had grown increasingly fond of and managed to see his condition as merely unfortunate rather than defining) and Pettigrew. The other boys formed the final group of first years.

All students, Minerva was pleased to note, seemed in high spirits. Her eyes settled on Black for a little longer. He was laughing and joking with his friends just as he was at the end of the last term, eyes bright with obvious mischief as he dug his elbow into Potter's ribs as the latter flicked a spoonful of peas at him.

~#~

Minerva had thought the matter over and put it down to a slight misunderstanding until her first lesson with her Gryffindor and Slytherin first years the next morning.

The transfiguration professor had a habit of watching her students carefully. Examining their behaviour and watching the changes in them. This helped her to see how they were learning and settling in to life at Hogwarts. It also helped to give her a sixth sense for when trouble was brewing amongst the students.

Several students caught her eye that morning as she glanced over them.

Lupin appeared tired and sluggish though that was likely to be due to the full moon two days previous. Snape was glaring at Evans as she sat amongst the Gryffindors laughing along with Ivy Joans and Marlene McKinnon. Minerva also reminded herself to keep an eye on Avery and Gibbon who were muttering to one another, both with intense looks on their faces and their lips pulling up at the corners.

But what really caught her eye was the unusually quiet nature of four Gryffindor boys. At the heart of their silence was Sirius Black with his back ramrod straight and his eyes cast downwards towards his desk. The other three boys, Potter, Lupin and Pettigrew, were also keeping quiet but were shooting the occasional glance at the boy sat between them.

Minerva's brow furrowed in their direction as she finished calling out the students' names. There was nothing she could do about it during her lesson but that didn't stop her from being confused at this change of behaviour from the New Year Feast.

Throughout the lesson, a practical review of the first term's spells, the back row of Gryffindors tried to engage Black in conversation and quiet laughter. The first thirty minutes of the lesson Black's behaviour remained just as stiff and silent as before. By the second thirty minutes, the boy appeared to be starting to loosen up but his smile was strained and his posture remained defensive.

The nature of the lesson gave Minerva plenty of time to observe her students without appearing strange. She was a little surprised at the involvement of Pettigrew in the Gryffindor boys' activities but assumed he had joined the group when Potter and Black became friends. Lupin's inclusion was less surprising as he'd been by Black's side since the Welcome Feast.

Meanwhile Avery and Gibbon continued their hushed discussion with the same intensity as before, their transfigurations left neglected. Minerva swept over to them, stern glare fixed into place she set to her task of reprimanding her students who broke apart as soon as she started towards them. She remained with them for some time, watching as each tried to remember each transfiguration they had learned before Christmas. Neither left the classroom that day without a point deduction and an hour's detention for not following the lesson.

Minerva had been so distracted by her misbehaving Slytherins that she had almost totally forgotten about Black's changed behaviour until she caught sight of him and his friends sweeping from the classroom before she could call them back.

The professor sighed as the door shut behind the last of the first years and sank into her desk chair. Minerva resolved to watch the situation closely and only request another private meeting with Black if his behaviour remained unchanged. Besides, she had reminded the boy several times over the past few months that her office door would always be open if he needed to talk. She wasn't entirely sure he would take her up on the offer but it was there all the same.

~#~

Minerva kept her promise to herself that week and kept a close eye on her lion. She was pleased to note that after several days surrounded by his friends that Black's behaviour started to loosen up until he was laughing freely again. Unfortunately for her, the boy was back up to mischief as soon as his laughter returned and she was kept busy once more. At least she didn't have to have another private conversation with him that was bound to leave her confused once more.

The boy confused her more than the professor would willingly admit. She had previously thought herself good at being able to read her students, but Black's changing behaviour presented her a challenge. Not that he was the only student she found herself having to watch out for.

Just as she had assumed Avery and Gibbon had been up to mischief that day in their first transfiguration lesson of the New Year. By the following Sunday several Hufflepuffs had reported to Professor Kettleburn (their head of house) that there was water quickly leaking into their common room to the point that the students had to wade their way to the, mercifully still dry, dormitories. Unfortunately for the two Slytherins, they had been spotted running in the opposite direction from the Hufflepuff common room the same night that the leaks had started.

Thankfully the discipline fell to Horace to arrange and Minerva was allowed to finish her weekend in relative peace after helping Silvanusto repair the pipework in the basement common room.

~#~

_So sorry for the long wait, there's really no excuse except laziness, a small amount of writer's block and a whole heap more laziness. I'll try to write more often but I'm NOT abandoning this story either way._


End file.
